Topic: Protection of Minors

Pope Francis, in some of his most candid and personal comments on the sexual abuse of children by priests, said on Thursday that the Catholic Church had “arrived late” in dealing with the problem.

Francis, speaking in unscripted remarks to a commission advising him on how to root out sexual abuse, also acknowledged that early in his papacy he had made one bad call in being too lenient with an Italian priest who later went on to abuse again.

He also said he had decided to change current procedures for dealing with abusive priests by eliminating appeals trials in cases where there was definitive proof.

As part of our ongoing effort to highlight important considerations in the ongoing work of child and youth protection in the church, we occasionally highlight articles about these needs.

From The Boston Globe (Part 2 of 2) – August 17, 2017

One bright morning three years ago, Vincent Doyle joined the thousands of Catholic faithful jamming St. Peter’s Square for a chance to see Pope Francis make his weekly public appearance and bestow his blessing on the crowd.

Unlike most of those standing in the searing Roman sun, Doyle was headed to a front-row seat in a reserved section very close to where the pope would emerge, and he was already silently rehearsing an urgent message in the pontiff’s native language.

“I am the son of a Catholic priest in Ireland,” he repeated in Spanish, praying he would not become tongue-tied or overcome with emotion when he met the Holy Father.

As part of our ongoing effort to highlight important considerations in the ongoing work of child and youth protection in the church, we occasionally highlight articles about these needs.

From The Boston Globe (Part 1 of 2) – August 16, 2017

He carried his doubts and disappointment across miles and decades, from childhood to adulthood, and finally at the age of 48 to the kitchen table of a modest house outside of Buffalo. There, he would ask an elderly aunt and uncle to help him answer the question that had troubled him all his life: Why had his father always seemed to dislike him so much?

With his parents already dead, Jim Graham pleaded with his Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Otto to tell him the truth about his family. Finally, Kathryn unfolded a newsletter published by a Catholic religious order and slid it across the table. She jabbed a finger at a picture of a sad, balding figure wearing a priest’s clerical collar.

“Only the principals know for sure,” she said, “but this may be your father.”

The Conference of Major Superiors of Men is pleased to announce the hiring of the Rev. Gerard J. McGlone, S.J., Ph. D., to serve as Associate Director for the Protection of Minors. The appointment was announced today by the Rev. John Pavlik, OFM Cap., Executive Director. This newly created position responds to the Conference’s desire to designate a person singularly devoted to serve as a primary resource person of the Conference for its Member Institutes as they participate in and develop programs for the protection of minors. Fr. McGlone will assist institutes in addressing their common commitment to make the Church and the Member Institutes places of safety for children and to stand in unity with the efforts of the universal Church to create safe environments.

Fr. McGlone will formally begin his position in mid-August.

In August of 2016 the leadership of the CMSM accepted a series of recommendations made by a specially formulated National Advisory Council composed of professionals and experienced leaders after a two-year study of the efforts of its member institutes in and through their programs, policies and procedures to fully affirm and collaborate with the ecclesial hierarchy of the United States in applying the values and principles articulated in the Charter for the Protection of Children. One recommendation of the Advisory Council held that the Conference of Major Superiors designate one person to singularly serve the members in these matters, and especially to offer assistance to small institutes with limited resources so that compliance might be achievable by all institutes, regardless of size. The National Board of the CMSM determined that the person hired for this new position should be tasked to gradually implement the ten recommendations of the National Advisory Council announced last summer. Since the autumn of 2016, the Conference worked to define the tasks to be undertaken by the Associate Director, to find funding for the position, and to conduct a broad search for candidates for this position.

Fr. McGlone will leave his current position as Director of Counseling Services, Staff Psychologist, and a member of the Faculty at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy, to accept this role on behalf of men entrusted with leadership in religious institutes in the United States. Because Fr. McGlone has previously served the Church and religious life in the United States through a position at St. John Vianney Center in Downingtown, PA, and as a consultant on formation of new members, and as a retreat director, he is well known to both leadership and members of individual institutes.

The leadership of the Conference will formally introduce Fr. McGlone as director at the August 2017 National Assembly and will present a vision for this new position. Executive Director, Rev. John Pavlik, OFM Cap., stated: “I look forward to collaborating closely with someone I have grown to admire for the breadth and depth of the expertise and knowledge he brings to the field of promoting the safety of children within the ecclesial community. Jerry knows religious life very well, and will, I am certain, generously serve our members to advance the cause and the practices of both safety for children and a balanced and healthy lifestyle for members of religious institutes.”

CMSM President, Very Rev. Brian Terry, SA, Minister General of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, stated: “The Conference is deeply grateful to Fr. McGlone for joining us in our commitment to provide safe environments for all children. Fr. Jerry brings a wealth of experience which will assist our members and the Church.”

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